Vermont Public Television launches two new Bennington County channels

Vermont Public Television (VPT) president John King, along with state and federal officials, gathered at Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action on Friday, December 2, 2011 to launch VPT’s two new digital transmitters serving Bennington County.
The new digital channels, 46 Pownal from Mt. Anthony and 30 Manchester from Mt. Equinox, bring new content and greater coverage to the area.
Helping King do the honors were Brian Harwood, chair of VPT’s board of directors; Marie Leahy, VPT community council chair and a resident of Bennington; John Tracy, state director, office of Sen. Patrick Leahy; Sam Haskins, veterans policy advisor/outreach representative, office of Sen. Bernie Sanders; Patricia Menduni, community liaison, office of Rep. Peter Welch; State Rep. Alice M. Emmons of Springfield, chair of the House Institutions Committee; State Sen. Robert M. Hartwell of Bennington, chair of the Senate Institutions Committee; State Sen. Richard W. Sears Jr., of Bennington; and Rhonda Shippee, community programs director, USDA Rural Development.
Aiming their remote controls at a giant TV screen shortly after 1 p.m., they tuned in channel 46 Pownal to find ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ on VPT HD, the main channel. The expanded bandwidth of digital television allows VPT to air the additional channels VPT Create and VPT World. The new transmitters bring these channels free for the first time to viewers who receive TV over the air.
Before this, these viewers could receive only the VPT main channel in analog on 53 Pownal and 36 Manchester. The analog channels will be turned off at the end of the month.
Commenting on clips of VPT-produced stories from Bennington County the guests had screened, John King said, ‘We have many more stories to tell.’ He explained that it takes a myriad of transmitters, microwave hops and antennas on mountaintops to get those stories out statewide.
He thanked the state and federal officials for their help in securing the funds that support the conversion of VPT to the digital format. While there is still work to do on the project, King said the Bennington transmitter launch was ‘a milestone,’ because it completed VPT’s network of six digital transmitters around the state.
King spoke of the greater coverage the transmitters bring to the area. The new channels will reach thousands more households than the former transmitters, and VPT looks forward to hearing from viewers receiving its services for the first time. Signals reach beyond Vermont into neighboring areas of Massachusetts and New York.
A grant from the USDA Rural Digital program covered direct expenses for the new channels. The USDA funding ensures that rural America is not left behind by the digital transition by providing targeted assistance to rural public television stations.
Vermont cable viewers are not affected by the change. Satellite viewers receive just the main VPT channel, not VPT Create and VPT World. They can use an antenna to tune to those channels.
State and federal officials and John King, president of Vermont Public Television (at podium) aim remote controls at the screen to launch VPT’s new digital channels in Bennington County on Dec. 2. Left to right: Sen. Richard W. Sears Jr. of Bennington; John Tracy, office of Sen. Patrick Leahy; Sam Haskins, office of Sen. Bernie Sanders; Patricia Menduni (partly hidden), office of Rep. Peter Welch; Rep. Alice M. Emmons of Springfield; Rhonda Shippee, USDA Rural Development; Sen. Robert M. Hartwell of Bennington; Brian Harwood, chair of VPT’s board of directors; and Marie Leahy, VPT community council chair.
To find out more, get help with reception or see schedule information, viewers can visit www.vpt.org
Vermont Public Television 12.2.2011